Earth auger



J. C. JAQUES Nov. 26, 1946.

EARTH AUGER Filed March 21, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 INVENTOR. John 6'. Ja ques 6 7 .86 00 06 0 0 7 0 0 0000000 0 0 0 0 I. O D 4Q 00000000 I o "M ,6

JTTORNEYS Nov. 26, 1946.

J. c. JAQUES 2,411,627

EARTH AUGER Filed. March 21, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n 7/11 "VI/J I III/Ill IIIIIIIII INVENTOR,

Joimz C Jaques ATTORNEYS:

ableby thedri'veri o'f thetractor, r

Still another object-of the inventionis toprovide 'an improvedauger feedingmechanism readily adjustable by the workman standing at the Fig.2is an'enlargedvertical;

the auger feeding and raising mechanism,

Patented Nov. 26, 1946 r EARTH AUGER attached to the front end: of an ordinary tractor.

Another object 'of th'e invention is to provide an improved 7 'earth auger including: elements which maybe readilyattachedtoithefront end of anordinarytractor without altering the structure of the tractor and in 'asim'ple manner.

-A further objectof the invention is to'provide an improved-auger including a gear housing which carri'es' the auger andits adjusting means and is braced and held against lateral displace' ment and at the same time is vertically adjusthole being bored. v I: I

. A construction designed to carryout the invention will be hereinafter described together with 1 'otherfeaturesof theinvention.=" I a e v I g John CrJaques, Denison, Tex. v j Application March 21, 1946QSeri'alNo. 655,950

' v 7 Claims. (01.255-19) coinmon and the details are immaterial to the 'I'he-inventionwill-be more readily understood 4 from a reading of, the following-specification-and by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein an example-oftheinvention is shown, and wherein: I v e g 7 Fig. 1 is a; perspective view of a tractor equipped with an earth auger constructed in accordance with the invention;--" w sectional view of onz-the line 3 3 of Fig.2, 1 g y g I :Fig. Luis-an enlarged verticaL sectional view of thegear housing and component parts,

:-Fig.5 is a transversejfsectional-view of the drive pulley and shield,1a; I

i Fig. 6 is a detail of'thetelescoping brace-and .Fig. 7 is atransverse',sectional view of the universal joint connections for the shield and torque This application; is filed, as a continuation-inpart .of my 7 co-pending application filed Septem- :4 ;.Fig. 3 is"a view-alt'right'angles 'tofFig, 2; taken g In the drawingspthenumeralirl0 designates an ordinary "tractor which hasz. the usual take-01f ordriving pulley I I], having One end of an endless belt 12 carried -thereby.r The belt JIZ passes over;a -;tal;e-.up pulley l3 andhas its front end supported on.- a rol -t petnu ey, l4. mounted on a stub shaft yl'iiniai'cylint ical Shj-Bldrllfi suitably fasteneolflml the; front en f the'tractor frame 101. :TfikQ-J d i es o it-his character are quite :27; secured to the housing by bolts 28.

shaft l 1.

present invention, As shown' in Figs. 1 and 5 the shield l6 extends laterally from the tractor frame and has ,a'window IS in its rear side through which the belt extends. The stub shaft I5 is con- 'nected to a drive shaft I1 by a universal 'joint 15' and the shaft 11 is enclosed-within a torque tube lfl which is co'nnected'to 5 the shield by a universal joint l9 (Fig.7).

I he t orque tube 18, as best shownin h is provided at its outer'end with a flange 20 which is securedto the, flange 2l of a cylindricalgear housing 22. The flange 2| is formed on the outer 7 end of the collar 23*at one side of the housing and the flange 20 is secured'thereto by means of b'olts' 24. The housing 22 has an enlarged central opening 25 in its top and bottom Walls and is provided with an upper cap 26 and a lower cap fAin upright cylindrical hood'or housing 34 having its upper end closed is welded or otherwise fastened at its lower upper end on the housing cap'26 A boring shaft 35 extends axially through the housing and its caps and also axially upwardlyin the hood 34; A stub shaft 3.! is journaled in suitable roller bearings 38 mounted in the collar 23." The outer end of this shaft is splined into the reduced outer end'of the drive On'theinner end of the shaft 31 a bevelled pinion 139 is secured and drives a ring gear 40 rotatably mounted in' the housing 22. The pinion and gear are of the spiral tooth type. The ring gear hasan elongate depending hub 4| which extends through roller bearings 43 mounted in the lower end of the housing cap 21,

' The-boring shaft 35 has a snug sliding fit in the a hub 4| .and also in a gear sleeve or block 44 which is integral with the gear 40. The shaft is provided with a vertical key way 45, and avertical key 46 fastened in the block- 44 engages in the key way and thereby transmits rotary motion to the shaft which at thesame time is vertically adjustable through'the hub and block; The block has an upstanding integral sleeve 41 at its upper end engaging'in aroller bearing 48 mounted in the upper end of the upper cap 26. The sleeve extends through a guide collar 49 suitably fastened" on the cap 26 in the hood 34; the shaft having a snug sliding fit insaid sleeve.

A suitable auger bit 50 is mounted on the lower end of the shaft 35. 'Any bit suitable for the purpose may be employed'and a bit of the usual type is shown, which bit includes a tubular shaft 5| having the shaft 35secured by acoupling52 -"in thelupper end thereof. Byoperating the coupling, the bit may be taken off and either sharpened or replaced.

One of the particular features of the invention resides in the manual adjustment and control of the boring shaft. As is best shown in Fig. 2, the upper end of the boring shaft 35 is provided with a reduced upright shank 53 screwthreaded at its upper end. A flanged bushing 54 sur rounds the shank and rests upon a. collar 53 at the base of the shank. This collar is confined by a nut 55 screwed onto the shank which in turn is held in place by a jam nut -6, screwed onto the upper end of said shank. A hanger ring 51 surrounds the bushing and roller bearings 51' are interposed between the bushing and said ring, be,

ing confined by the flange of such bushing and the nut 55. The hood 34 is provided with a vertical slot 58 and upper and lower brackets 59 are mounted on the outside of the hood on each side of the slot at the upper and lower ends thereof, for supporting shafts 6!] and 6 i. Sprocket wheels 62 are mounted on the shafts so as to project through the slot as shown in Fig. 2. An endless sprocket chain 63' is mounted on the sprockets and has one of its links connected with the hanger ring 51 by an adapter link 5 connected in the chain.

The shaft 6! (Fig.3) extends from one side of the brackets 55 and has fastened thereon a sprocket wheel 6%, considerably larger in diameter than the lower sprocket wheel 62. This sprocket wheel 66 is driven by an endless chain bl passing around a smaller sprocket wheel 68 which is mounted above the wheel 55-. The wheel 68 is fastened on-a shaft 69 mounted in brackets ,10 ,on the hood 34. The shafts 6! and 69 are long enough to support the wheels 66 and $3 at one side of the hood, so that a relatively long crank handle 65, fastened on the outer end of the shaft 69, may be freely rotated. It is obvious that the smaller wheel 88, in rotating the larger wheel 56, will transmit increased force to the shaft 6| and the chain. This will enable the workman to feed the shaft 35 and bit so downwardly with increasing force at reduced labor by placing one hand and his weight on the tube. I8 and revolving the crank 65 with the other. It will aid in raising the shaft and bit.

For supporting the gear housing 22 and the tube IS, an upright yoke-shaped frame 29 is suitably mounted in the front end of the tractor frame. An ear I l, withinthe frame at one side of the top thereof, receives the hook 32 of a pulley block 3!, to the bottom of which one end of a cable 30 is attached. This cable extends downwardly and through a pulley block 32', having a hook 33 which is engaged in an eye 33 on the upper cap 26 of the gear housing. The cable, after passing through thelower block 33, extends upwardly and through the upper block 3!. From the block 3!, the cable extends rearwardly and is attached to a lever l2, suitably mounted on the rear of the tractor frame Ill adjacent the drivers seat. By swinging the lever, the cable is manipulated to raise and lower the auger.

It is obvious that the pulley blocks 31. and 33 and the cable therebetween substantially overhangs the tube l3 and consequently, when the cable is moved, the tube and auger will be swung in a vertical arc transversely of the tractor. In order to hold the auger against forward and rearward displacement, once it is vertically adjusted, as well as to hold the hood 3B and bit 50 in an upright position, a brace is provided.

This brace includes a sleeve 13 into which a justment has brace bar 14 telescopes. The rear end of the sleeve is attached to a universal joint 15 supported by a bracket 15 secured to the side of the tractor frame III, at the medial portion thereof (Figs. 1 and 6). The bar and sleeve are provided with spaced holes 11 and 18 adapted to register and receive a headed pin 19, whereby the bar and sleeve are fastened in longitudinally adjusted positions.

The forward end of the bar carries an ear which is pivoted to a clamp 8| secured about the tube 18, intermediate the ends thereof. When the gear housing 22 is adjusted vertically, the pin 19 is removed and the telescoping relation of the brace member and the universal joint (5, permit the brace to swing accordingly. When the adbeen made, the pin is inserted in the holes; a slight longitudinal adjustment of the brace members sometimes being necessary to register said holes.

In the usual operation of machines of this character, the tractor is driven by one workman and a second workman manipulates the boring mechanism. By means of the manual chain adjustment, the second Workman may standat the hole and readily adjust the boring shaft 3511p and down as may be necessary. This is a great advantage because it gives the second workman absolute contro1 over the boring and enables him to free the bit-50 in accordance'with the boring conditions or to readily raise the same if he so desires. 7 It is obvious that the manualcontrol is more or less sensitive so that the operator can feed the bit to the earth as he desires and ii the resistance to the cutting becomes too great he can readily-raise the bit to eaSe off the boring; The driver of the tractor may operate the lever 12 so as to actuate the cable st and swing the auger in a Vertical are having its center along the line between the universal joints is and 15. The auger may thus be tilted in avertical plane, and by properly positioning the clampBl; the auger may be adjusted into any desired vertical position. Plumb holes may thus be drilled.

Theforegoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within thev scope of the appended claims, without departin from the spirit of the invention.

, What; I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y I

1. An earth auger for a tractor having a frame including, a torque tube member having one end pivotally connected to the tractor frame and its opposite end extending horizontally thereof, a brace member having its inner end pivotally connected to the tractor frame and its outer end pivotally connected to the torque tube member, one of said members extending transversely of the tractor'frame 'andthe other member extending longitudinally of the tractor frame, a gear housinghaving gearing therein mounted on the outer end of the torque tube member, 'a'gearin'g shaft connected with the gearing. of the housing and extending through the torque tube member, means for driving the gearing shaft adapted to be'conne'cted with the driving mechanism ofa tracton an upright boring shaft slideable through the gearing of the housing and'rotated thereby, means carried by -the housing for vertically adjusting-the boring' sl-iaft, a bit mounted on' the lower end of the'boring shaft, and means connected to the tractor for vertically adjusting the gear housing, the pivotal connection of the torque tube member and brace member to the tractor frame allowing vertical movement of the housing and bit and rigidly holding the housing and bit against lateral movement.

2. An earth auger for a tractor having a frame including, a torquetube member having one end pivotally connected to the tractor frame and its opposite end extending horizontally thereof, a brace member havingits inner end pivotally connected to the tractor frame and its outer end pivotally connected to the torque tube member, one of said members extending transversely of the tractor frame and the other member extending longitudinally of the tractor frame, a gear housing having gearing therein mounted on the outer end of the torque tube member, a gearing shaft connected with the gearing of the housing and extending through the torque tube member, means for driving the gearing shaft adapted to be connected with the driving mechanism of a tractor, an upright boring shaft slideable through the aring of the housing and rotated thereby, an upright housing mounted on the gear housing and enclosing the boring shaft, an endless chain mounted on the upright housing, a connection carried by the chain and rotatably connected with the boring shaft for vertically adjusting the latter, hand means carried by the upright housing for operating the chain, a bit mounted on the lower end of the boring shaft :and means connected to the tractor for vertically adjusting the gear housing, the pivotal conne'c tion of the torque tube member and brace member to the tractor frame allowing vertical movement of the housing and bit and rigidly holding the housing and bit against lateral movement.

3. An earth auger as set forth in claim 1, and an upright frame mounted on the tractor and havin the gear housing adjusting means connected thereto.

4. An earth auger as set forth in claim 1 with a split clamp secured around the torque tube member and the outer end of the brace member pivotally connected to the clamp.

5. An earth auger as set forth in claim 1 with a split clamp secured around the torque tube member and adjustable thereon and the outer end of the brace member pivotally connected to the clamp, said brace member being adjustable lengthwise.

6. An earth auger for a tractor having a frame including, a torque tube member having one end connected to the tractor frame and its opposite end projecting horizontally thereof, a universal joint in said tube member near its connected end, a brace member having its inner end connected to the tractor frame and its outer end pivotally connected to the torque tube member, a universal joint in the brace member near its inner end, one of said members extending transversely of the tractor frame and the other member extending longitudinally of the tractor frame, a gear housing having gearing therein mounted on the outer end of the torque tube member, a gearing shaft connected with the gearing of the housing and extending through the torque tube member, means for driving the gearing shaft adapted to be connected with the driving mechanism of a tractor, an upright boring shaft slideable through the gearing of the housing and rotated thereby, means carried by the housing for vertically adjusting the boring shaft, a bit mounted on the lower end of the boring shaft, and means connected to the tractor for vertically adjusting the gear housing, the universal mounting of the torque tube member and brace member allowing vertical movement of the housing and the bit and rigidly holding the housing and bit against lateral movement.

7.'An earth auger as set forth in claim 6, wherein a split clamp is secured around the torque tube member and adjustable thereon and the outer end of the brace member pivotedto the clamp, said brace member being adjustable lengthwise.

JOHN C. JAQUES. 

